On game day morning at breakfast, Hansen and his Breakfast Club members finished training and sat there chatting.
Smith was the most enthusiastic at the table, clearly in a very good mood.
This was directly related to his current situation. He had successfully fought his way back into the rotation, and management had also given up on the idea of trading him.
The primary reason for this was, of course, his noticeable recovery in condition due to high-intensity training.
On the other hand, a secondary reason was related to the current Cavaliers’ play style.
Iso-play, like the triangle offense, is essentially a superstar isolation tactic, where role players just need to create space and defend.
As long as JR is in form, his outside shooting alone is something Murray can’t match.
Plus, with his physical qualities, if his attitude is right, his defense is much stronger than Korver’s.
"Boss, I think you’re already better than Michael," he said with a grin to Hansen when the conversation hit its peak.
He had previously felt that Hansen didn’t speak up much for him, but later learned that Hansen had fought for a month of recovery time for him, and his gratitude towards Hansen was as endless as flowing water.
"Surpassing Michael is only a matter of time," Wade also expressed his opinion in agreement.
After all, Hansen was just finishing his 9th year in his professional career. Even if he couldn’t lead the Cavaliers to complete the dynasty this season, winning two more after would definitely surpass it.
Everyone knows Jordan’s 6 championships in 6 years, building two dynasties, was remarkable, but Jordan didn’t have just those 6 years in his career.
In a side-by-side comparison, Jordan only completed his first dynasty by his 9th year. Check latest chapters at 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍
Moreover, Hansen is already starting to break various historical records, even having claimed the playoff single-game scoring record.
Hansen shook his head with a smile, aiming for the highest mountain, not the longest river:
"Let’s talk about this once we win the championship this year."
Among the TNT quartet, Smith’s remarks were the most unbiased. Only those who dominate their contemporaries are qualified to compete for the greatest in history.
The difficulty of the Cavaliers’ dynastic season far exceeds that of the Grizzlies era, but that’s just part of the process.
And as long as he can achieve it, that surpasses it, and the rest of his career will be icing on the cake, creating new hurdles for future generations aspiring to be the best in history.
On the game night, the North Shore Garden Arena was packed.
Entering the arena, Hansen could clearly feel the wave of enthusiasm coming from the Boston fans.
It’s only been two years since Towns was drafted, yet the Celtics’ lineup and performance have improved year by year, with a promising shot at the championship this year.
Imagine if a team had stopped Jordan from winning the championship in 1998, it would be like Jordan leading the Bulls to beat the Lakers in ’91, a process of creating a new legend by defeating a legend.
If they can stop the Cavaliers’ dynasty this season, it would be equivalent to achieving something similar, and the glory will once again belong to the Boston people.
In such a context, it’s hard for Boston fans not to be excited.
And tonight’s Christmas game is a perfect starting point.
During the pre-game warm-up, the camera focused on Irving warming up on the court.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
In fact, since arriving in Boston this season, Irving hasn’t caused any trouble; some of his statements even gained him a lot of popularity here.
Especially last month, when he made a remark, "I would have rather been drafted by Boston in 2011 than by Cleveland."
He then followed up with an explanation:
"When I was young and drafted, I needed a lot of guidance, much training. You know, if I gave myself a chance to be with people who know more than me, in some cases smarter than me, from whom I could learn more, then I could have become my best self sooner."
His rhetoric was clear, when drafted by the Cavaliers, there wasn’t a veteran to guide him, which made his individual performance outstanding but left him unable to understand how to lead a team to victory.
It wasn’t until Hansen arrived that he made significant progress and finally found his way to growth.
But if he had been chosen by the Celtics at that time, with Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen present, he would have grown quickly like Rondo did and become stronger than now.
Irving’s words, like past comments comparing Chicago more to a sports city than Cleveland did, didn’t need questioning, but they did manage to anger Cleveland’s fans again, as the Celtics had the 25th pick that year, making it impossible to draft the top prospect, Irving.
Unless Irving himself declared that he only wanted to join the Celtics, dropping to the 25th pick, or the Celtics traded a lot of assets to get the first pick to draft him, but both scenarios were impossible.
Of course, that did not stop him from being well-received by Boston fans.
After all, such remarks gave them a feeling that Irving and the Celtics were a match made too late.
Moreover, even Durant made similar remarks when deciding to join the Celtics last year, it seemed like "birds of a feather flock together."
Just as Hansen finished warming up, seeing Irving on the LED screen gave him a surreal feeling.
Just a year ago, Irving was still a player for the Cavaliers, and back then, they had teamed up for a Christmas battle against the Universe Warriors.